The Spaces We Make
by kohee
Summary: The process of moving in together, and making space for each other. Barba/Benson
one-shot; prompt: _moving in_ _
_pairing: rafael barba/olivia benson  
word count: 1626 words  
prompt from barsonaddict [tumblr]

 _begin_

When Barba suggests moving in together - in that off-handed, overtly casual tone that she knows he only uses when he's actually _nervous_ – Liv is surprised at how little thought she gave to that suggestion before saying yes.

He eyes her warily after that. "Uhhh. Should I be worried that it took you less than ten seconds to answer yes?"

"Why, Counselor, are _you_ unsure?" She asks teasingly, tugging at his tie.

He snorts. "Liv, I asked the question."

She's surer than she has ever been. Him and her, it hasn't been that long but it has never felt more comfortable, or more natural. He fits into her life. And he fits into Noah's life. She leans in and kisses him briefly, reassuringly.

" _Yes_ , Raf, of course I'm sure. The next most important question is: where? Your place, my place or a new place?"

"Whichever option that has the most closet space." He says, his expression serious, as he curves his arm around her waist and pulls her close.

"Then we better start looking for a place with at least a thousand square feet of closet space. And that's for your clothes only." She quips as he laughs.

* * *

Eventually they decide that Barba should be the one moving into Liv's apartment. Her apartment is bigger, and it makes sense not to move Noah around, not to uproot him, and let him have the comfort of the familiarity that he is used to.

They'll get a place that is fully _theirs_ someday, when Noah is older, he thinks, but that is something to work towards for the future.

The squad pitches in with moving day. Barba has a lot of things – mostly clothes ( _seriously man, it wouldn't kill you to wear the same tie more than once_ , Fin grouses) and books (Carisi goes all delirious over his collection; _Oh wow, can I borrow this law text? And this one? And I've been dying to read this biography..._ ) and a few boxes of personal mementos ( _I'm carrying these because they are the least heavy_ , Amanda declares).

They have reached a compromise about furniture, he brings a few pieces over, and she puts some of her furniture up for sale.

By the end of the day, all the boxes are in (but not unpacked), and all his furniture is in the right place. They all then proceed to head out for dinner and drinks, or as Carisi puts it, to celebrate Lieu and Barba "shacking up" (Amanda gives him a knock on the head for that terrible line).

That night, when they go home, Liv and Barba choose not to unpack. They instead choose to commemorate moving day ( _we're shacking up_ , Barba smirks before kissing her senseless) by having a long, glorious and passionate love-making session.

* * *

It takes a bit of getting used to.

They've stayed over enough at each other's places, before this, to have sense of each other's habits, and to have a sense of what to expect.

Still, it is something new to be waking up next to each other every single morning, not to have to go home for documents or changes of clothes or anything they might need from their own places, like it was in the past. Everything is _together_ now, everything they need is _here_.

There are little things here and there.

Barba is a stickler for neatness, and Noah's toybox is no longer a decorative item once he moved in. Instead, Noah gains several more toy boxes, although he does not gain the habit to put away his toys when he finishes playing with them (Barba is doing that mostly, but he tells Liv they have to start teaching Noah soon – and it warms her heart to hear him use _they_ ).

Liv is practical when it comes to her wardrobe. She has all her key pieces for work, casual wear for weekends and off days, and the few formal dresses and gowns for the needed occasions. Therefore, Barba's wardrobe dilemma aggravates her sometimes. She'd pick out a blue and white striped tie for his white and blue checked shirt and he'd say that's not the right tie, and for the life of her, she cannot understand why is it not the right tie (it's blue and white!).

Barba is the type to wash up as he cooks, and Liv is the type that likes to leave all the pots, plates, chopping boards and utensils soaking in the sink. That leads to the occasional squabble, but making up after that is often quite satisfying (sometimes, Liv wonders if Barba purposely pick fights with her just so they can make out after that).

Barba likes to put his feet up at the coffee table when they have television time (either just them, or with Noah). The fact that his stretched out legs make a very comfortable spot for her head to rest on dissipates her annoyance a little.

Liv likes to drag all the blankets and quilts to her side of the bed at night, and on the cold nights, that can get rather irritating. But he has his own special way of waking her up and taking the blankets back, so that usually works out fine.

It's a process, living together, but they're working through it.

* * *

Liv first notices the photos when Barba unpacks his final box of mementos. Faded photos of a young, chubby Barba with a striking dark-haired woman that is obviously Lucia Barba, and an older woman who is obviously his _abuelita_.

"You were rather cute." She grins, as he plucks the photos out of her hands.

"I don't think we're _quite_ at the stage of sharing embarrassing childhood photos, Liv." He jokes, putting the photos into his drawer.

"You should put some out at the mantelpiece." She suggests, taking a sip of wine. Their mantelpiece is still quite bare for now. She's never really been a photo person – there are some knick knacks here and here, a faded photo of Serena and herself as a girl, a photo with Barba, a photo of herself and Noah, a photo of the squad (with Nick, Captain Cragen, Munch and yes, Elliot), but it's all a bit of a mess and rather disorganised.

He's quiet for a bit, and then he shrugs his shoulders. "My childhood isn't something I want to remember all the time."

His expression tugs at her heart, as she walks to him and slips her arms around him from behind, resting her cheek against his back.

"I know." She says.

And he knows she understands, because she's the same.

Later that night, after he has tucked Noah into bed, he wanders to the haphazard mantelpiece, and stares at it for a minute.

They may not want to remember their childhoods all that much, but he wants to remember them as they are now. And he's pretty sure she would want that, too.

* * *

Amanda suggests he looks at Pinterest, and he gives up after approximately 30 seconds. He doesn't need for it to be fancy after all, and he certainly does not have time to be gluing things together and using glitter or feathers or all that crafty stuff that Pinterest is so obsessed with.

It kind of pains him to ask for photos from Carisi, but he knows Carisi has plenty. Carisi prides himself as being the photographer for the squad and he's always clicking away when they have get-togethers (and frankly, he is a more than just a decent photographer although Barba would sooner walk barefooted on hot coals than to tell the man that). There are a lot of photos for him to choose from, and Barba carefully chooses a few.

What's left for him to do now is to get some simple photo frames, and he's done.

* * *

Liv comes home that night to see Barba fiddling at the mantelpiece. Hanging up her coat, she walks over and brushes his cheek with a hello kiss.

"What are you doing?" She asks curiously.

"Making space for us." He answers, stepping back as he tweaks a photo frame at the corner.

She looks, and for a moment, she's rendered speechless.

He has rearranged the mantelpiece, and decorated it with photos.

First, the two photos of their past: a photo young Barba with his mother and his _abuelita_ sits beside the photo of Serena and young Liv.

Then he has placed the photos of her squad – the old one with Stabler (he knows Stabler will always have a place in Liv's heart and on her mantelpiece, and he's fine with that), with Captain Cragen and Munch and Nick, and the newest, current squad with Carisi grinning like an idiot, and himself in it, too.

And then photos of them. A collection of shots that she has never seen before, mostly candid ones. Her resting her hand on his shoulder, a wide smile on her face as she looks as him. Him touching her cheek as he leans in to whisper in her ear. Them laughing together in a carefree, spontaneous manner.

And finally, photos of Noah. Noah by himself, Noah with her, and Noah with him.

"This...it's beautiful." She whispers, trailing her fingers across all the photos he has put up.

He hugs her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder as he nuzzles her neck. "Glad you approve."

She turns to him, and kisses him hard. "I love this. I love you."

"I have one last photo..." He holds up a framed photo of Noah, him and her. The three of them, together. "I thought this could go on the table beside our bed."

 _Our_ bed. _Our_ home. _Ours_.

Liv smiles, and kisses him again, slowly and sweetly.

"That is perfect."

 _end_

Note: this ended up being "living together" more than "moving in" though...urgh. And originally I intended this to be short. Five hundred words or less. It kind of got away from me, a little.


End file.
